A good comeback!

After returning from my holidays the only thing on my mind was getting back up the lochs as the weather got a bit better. I got my chance a couple days ago on Wednesday. I took the bus up to Oban and my brother picked me up from there. I then got the car off him as he was going to work and drove straight away to Loch Linnhe at my mark in Kentallen. It was low tide by now but the weather was nice and I was hoping for some quick action. Moreover I wanted to try some new cheapo metals I got from Aliexpress and was determined to fish mainly with them.
I had only my travel rods with me and started fishing with the Savagear roadrunner XLNT 7', 3-16g. It took a while to get bites but I soon had a decent fish on the jig. It was clear that it was a codling and after trying to snag me a couple times I finally got it up. I then changed lure to a smaller metal (again cheapo!) thinking that the fish might want a smaller profile and I also slowed down the retrieve. This resulted in a couple sharp bites and after striking I had something small but feisty on the end of my line. It soon proved to be my first cuckoo wrasse of the year! After the cuckoo I changed spot moving along the coastline  but only got a small pollock for my efforts. This didn't really surprise me as this mark tends to fire up towards the end of summer..

Chunky codling from Linnhe..

..on a cheapo yet effective metal.

First cuckoo of the year, on a metal..

The usual suspect...

It was getting late in the day by now and I decided to move to Loch Etive and continue fishing there.
I switched to soft plastics as the mark is more suited to them, but other than a few small pollock on 3" sluggos fished O.T.D nothing else showed. I was sure that in the morning things would be different though...
I slept in the car and woke up around 07:00. I picked up the UL setup (Spro Mobile Stick - Shimano Stradic 1000fc) and rigged my trusted ZX 35 blade on. I wasn't very optimistic about the blade pattern still holding on and was proven right as I only got a couple subtle takes but no hook ups on them.. I then switched to a 6g cheburashka and 3" scented paddletails and started to get bites. They were mostly from small pollock and I was surprised not to get a better one among them. I was getting frustrated after a while but at some point I got hit hard  midway on the retrieve by something good! It took some line and got the mobile stick on a full curve and it then did something unusual... It swam fast towards the surface (!), I saw a familiar though un-pollocklike shape coming up and then jumping clean out of the water! A nice Etive trout took a liking to my shad and after a couple more jumps I brought her in.. Its been a while since I caught such a nice trout and of course I wouldn't expect to catch her in Etive! She was around 40cm and quite plump and the best part is that I also got the fight on camera and will post the video soon...
After the trout and while the tide was coming in fast I decided to walk towards the northern part of the Loch at another mark that I haven't fished since last year. I stuck with the cheburashka/shad combo and after a 20min walk I was fishing the new mark. On the first cast I let the lure sink with free line and started hoping it across the bottom. This mark is where a sudden depth change takes place as its a transition from a relatively shallow ledge to a bluff rock wall. I had great success last year targeting pollock and especially codling that hunt on the ledge or station just on its lip. As I was bringing the lure in and almost at the base of the rocks, i got hit by something decent. It made a slow but powerful run and then bore down with headshakes. After a couple minutes a nice rock-codling was brought up and released back to the loch after a quick photo. The mark change seemed to be bearing fruit and I persisted on the spot with the same presentation. Some more codling and pollock started to show and provided me with excellent entertainment! And all fish caught from a small area, goes to show how important knowing the bottom structure can be...

OTD with light jigheads and slims can be the best way for finicky fish..

Unexpected trout!

Fat codling..

Beautiful colours of kelp pollock..

Even small codling go for big lures..

Hungry pollock...

The time was going by fast and I had to stop fishing unfortunately as I was gonna return with my brother to Glasgow. Of course I didn't stop fishing before a number of 'last casts' took place and then I got hit hard by a steam train! Although my setup was UL/LRF I have caught plenty of good fish on it to know that this was something special... The first run was frenetic and truly uncontrollable.. Then the fish slowed down and changed direction coming higher in the water column. Another crazy run and the braid parted! I was left speechless and in awe... I believe that the culprit was either a supercharged pollock or perhaps something with an adipose fin... Hate it when I don't get the chance to at least see the fish that defeat me! I should have inspected the braid as it could easily have weakened somewhere after all those fish...Loch Etive is a magic place where you never know what you could catch next! Obviously I cant wait till I'm back there again..

Tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile stick 80 UL, Savagear roadrunner XLNT 7', 3-16g
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000 fc, Shimano Stradic ci4 2500f
Mainline: YGK G-soul x3 PE 0.4,  Duel Hardcore X4 PE 0.8
leader: Toray premium fluorocarbon, 6lbs. YGK Nitlon DFC fluorocarbon, 8lbs
lure: metals and 3" paddletails on cheburashka. 3" sluggos on 1.8g wheelhead for OTD.